Course summary

Our BA (Hons) Acting course will appeal to you if you are passionate about pursuing a performance career.
BA (Hons) Acting at AUB has been designed to recognise the power of performance to change people’s lives and the artistic, educational, social and political power of performance to facilitate understanding and growth in us as humans. We believe in each actor having their own voice as an artist and as a creator. This course shows you what it takes to turn natural talent into a career – and make dreams of performing on stage or film a reality. BA (Hons) Acting is a highly practical course and will show you how to make that dream a reality.

What you will study
The course is recognised by Drama UK, which champions quality drama training in the UK. We’ll give you practical insights and help you build motivation and self-discipline. Even the strong academic element is approached through practice to underline the vocational nature of this course. Our practical approach quips you for a variety of roles. You’ll learn the voice, movement and singing skills you need as a creative artist. You’ll try your hand at everything from classical acting to contemporary performance, on stage and on film.

Professional opportunities for actors are increasingly broad and the course aims to address key concepts and skills that can be adapted to a wide range of performance media and contexts. In light of this, the course team does not focus upon a single methodology, but provides you with the tools to develop yourself as a professional and confident performer and individual.

You’ll have plenty of professional and technical support and we encourage you to experiment and work collaboratively with other students on your own projects; this reflects what it is like to work in the creative industries and thus prepares you for the working world after graduation. The synergy of activity on the courses at AUB is an important part of your development as an artist and contributor to our national and global community. You will take part in across-course collaborations to put on entirely student-produced theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary plays such as The Children's Hour by Lilian Hellman (Spring 2018), Alice by Laura Wade (Autumn 2017) and Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine (Spring 2017).

Approximately 75% of your time will be contact hours, including scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio. 28% of assessment for this course is coursework based and the other 72% is practical assessment.

By the end of the course you will be able to...

Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of, and apply a wide range of physical and vocal skills in performance.

Understand and appreciate key performance genres, their place within the broader cultural context and their inter-relationship with theory and practice.

Participate in collaborative working situations that will develop your practical skills and the ability to work with others.

Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the professional and ethical behaviour (i.e. time management, discipline, rehearsal and performance protocols) expected in order to meet the demands of the performance industry.

Demonstrate an understanding of, and facility for, the business/entrepreneurial requirements of performance making (budgeting for performance, use of technology, live pitching, targeting key audiences etc.).

Demonstrate the ability to describe, theorise, interpret, and evaluate performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives.

Studios and resources
Our BA (Hons) Acting students benefit from five specialist work spaces on campus. You’ll have access to acting, movement, music/voice and sound recording studios. We also have a fully-equipped black box theatre and a rehearsal and performance space in central Bournemouth.

Course details

Assessment method

Coursework and practical assessments

How to apply

Application deadlines

If your application is completed by the following date, it’s guaranteed to be considered:

15 January

*If you apply after this deadline, universities or colleges don’t have to consider your application if they’ve filled their spaces, so the sooner you apply, the better!

Application codes

You will need these codes when you add a choice to your application.

Course code

W410

Institution code

A66

Campus name

Main Site - Arts University Bournemouth

Campus code

-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Qualification

Offer

Further information

Scottish Higher

CCCCCD

Scottish Highers – five passes at Grade C or above

**Please see AUB's website for a full list of our entry requirements, including tariff points where applicable.**

We are happy to accept a wide range of qualifications, including but not limited to: A Levels, BTEC Extended Diploma, OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma, BTEC Subsidiary Diploma(s), Access to HE courses, Scottish Highers, IB Diploma Programme, Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. We can also accept many EU and International qualifications. See website for details. Email Admissions (admissions@aub.ac.uk) with any queries about entry requirements.

We welcome applicants who are currently studying or who have gained a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design and this qualification meets our level three entry requirements. This is a recommended qualification for many of our courses but it is not a compulsory qualification.

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 qualifications are considered on an individual basis and we are happy to accept applicants with a combination of Level 3 qualifications. Please check your qualifications using UCAS Tariff calculator and remember we are looking for the equivalent of 3 A levels if you are combining Level 3 qualifications.

AUB tailors its offers to the qualifications an applicant is studying and looks for applicant to be studying a relevant creative subject. AUB makes offers based on up to three A Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications with the most UCAS Tariff points attached to them to give applicants the best chance possible at achieving our required tariff (120 UCAS Tariff points in most cases).

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

Additional entry requirements

Audition

If you have been selected to attend an audition (we hold the majority of interviews January – March) we will email you and details will be sent via AUB’s application portal, MyApplication. Admissions will send you full details of the date and time of the audition, plus what to bring and how to get to AUB. You will need to follow the audition guidance for the course, to see what audition pieces you should prepare beforehand. AUB is flexible, so if you cannot attend your allocated audition date you can request it is rescheduled.

We invite a small group to each audition slot and you will be taken to the relevant course area. Normally this will begin with a brief talk about the course and then the academic staff will call you for your individual audition and interview.

For your audition and interview, you should prepare two pieces: a speech from a play by William Shakespeare, in blank verse and speech from a Modern or Contemporary play. Try to choose one speech that you feel is close to you or which you can identify with. Choose the other piece to reveal a different side of your abilities. In preparing the speeches you should have read and be familiar with the plays from which they have been taken so that you understand the character and the context within which they find themselves.

Interview

At the audition/interview you will have the opportunity to present your prepared speeches to the panel, who will then interview you. Your performance may be recorded on video by a member of the panel so that it can be reviewed at a later stage. The actual interview and audition will take about ten minutes.

Interviews are your opportunity to demonstrate to us your self-motivation and commitment to your area of study. Be ready to talk about your influences, who inspires you and why (think about your cultural interests such as gallery visits, exhibitions, cinema, theatre or literature). It’s important that you contextualise your work. We also expect you to have an awareness of contemporary practice in your chosen subject area. Interviews are also your opportunity to ask any questions you have about the course.

You may also be asked questions about your choices and the plays they come from in your interview.

English language requirements

Test

Grade

Additional details

Cambridge English Advanced

C

Overall score of 180

Cambridge English Proficiency

C

Overall score of 200

IELTS (Academic)

6.0

6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, speaking and listening)

PTE Academic

54.0

A minimum of 51 in each component

AUB can also accept International Baccalaureate English Language B or English Language and Literature A at Higher Level grade 4 or Standard Level grade 5.
We may also accept TOEFL iBT scores of 80 or above for entry to degree courses; however we would prefer one of the above qualifications. TOEFL is a test of American English and is not classified as a Secure English Language Test (SELT) for Tier 4 Visa applicants.
IELTS, Pearson and TOEFL scores must be less than two years old at the start of the course to be valid.

Unistats information

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